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“You’re an idiot, Leonardo,” Raphael hissed, trying to keep his older brother on his feet. “An idiot. That was stupid.”
The leader chuckled quietly, then promptly groaned when the muscles around his wound tensed painfully at the motion. “I love you too, Raphael.”
Taking a sharp breath, the red-masked ninja gave him an even sharper look. “Don’t say stuff like this. It sounds like you’re dying. Yer not.”
It didn’t sound at all convincing. Which actually made sense, considering the gunshot wound in Leonardo’s abdomen.
“Stupid,” Raph repeated quietly, the panic in his voice obvious as he adjusted his grip on his brother. He’d thrown Leo’s arm around his shoulders and had one hand wrapped around his waist so they could move as quickly as possible, but they were still too slow. They’d lost the Purple Dragons but it was just a matter of time before they catch up with the turtles again.
Leonardo didn’t comment on his words. What he said instead was “We need to find a shelter,” proving once again why he was the leader. Raph had no idea how his brother managed to sound so calm when he’d been shot, goddammit, while he was freaking out because that was Leonardo’s blood covering his hands.
It was never supposed to be like this. Except it was always like this.
“Basement,” Leo muttered.
Raph blinked, the unexpected word snapping him out of his thoughts. “What are you even talking about?”
“Getting up will be a more difficult than getting down,” the ninja explained, grimacing when he stumbled over some trash. “We can hide in some cellar.”
It was a good idea. Definitely better than nothing. Their minds were made up even before they heard the gangers scream from an opposite street. There were more voices than before, which was not good, to put it simply.
Finding a suitable place wasn’t difficult. Raphael used his sai to open the lock of one smaller store’s basement and soon they were hidden between boxes and merchandise. Raph laid his brother on the ground, preventing him from sitting up and leaning against the wall. “Don’t move. Keep pressure on it.”
“I’m trying,” the older turtle huffed, pressing his hand against the wound. “It stings.”
Raphael looked at him as if he was crazy. “No shit. You got shot, Fearless. Of course it hurts.”
He searched through the boxes and found some rugs in unopened packagings. It wasn’t the best, but it was better than nothing. He returned to Leonardo to bandage the wound as much as he could in order to at least slow down the bleeding.
“We need to get back to the lair,” Raphael said, more to himself. He wasn’t a healer, he had some basic knowledge, but he was no Donnie. Leonardo needed treatment, which he couldn’t provide.
Leonardo shifted and Raph’s eyes were on him instantly. “There’s too many of them outside.”
He was right. They were way outnumbered. “I should call Donatello and ask –”
“Don’t.” He shook his head and closed his eyes when the movement made everything spin. “They’d want to find us. It’s too dangerous.”
“We don’t know how long we’ll be here, Leo. Ya don’t look to good.”
He snorted, his face twisting with pain once more. “Thanks.” He grew more serious. “We can’t endanger them, Raphael. We’ll just have to wait for a little bit longer. The Purple Dragons aren’t known for patience.”
Raphael opened his mouth, then closed it. Slowly, he nodded. He didn’t like the idea – he hated it, to be more precise, but… But he understood Leonardo’s point. Mikey and Don were safe in the lair, and right now they had very few ways to monitor the situation outside.
For a while, silence fell over them, although Raphael wanted to scream. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that his older brother was lying on the ground, shot and bleeding, his breathing getting slower with every passing minute. It wasn’t fair that they couldn’t get help because no way in hell would they put their younger brothers in danger.
It wasn’t fair because Raphael was supposed to be the one shot, not Leonardo.
It was his fault. They had a fight and he went out on his own. He was angry and saught danger, until he got in a fight with some members of the Purple Dragons. He was reckless, his moves too sloppy, and he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings. Not until one of the gangers pulled out his gun and fired – and suddenly Leonardo was in front of him, taking the bullet that was supposed to hit Raphael.
Everyone was so surprised by his appearance that the blue-masked ninja managed to knock them the three of them out before he slumped on the ground, crying out in pain.
And now they were here and Raphael felt his worry and despair turn into anger.
“Why did you do that?” His words were harsh, spitted out in fear masked as rage. “You shouldn’t have just – jumped in front of me!”
His brother didn’t deserve the anger, but Raphael couldn’t stop himself. And, fortunately, Leonardo understood, because when he spoke, there was no anger in his voice, just concern. “He was ready to kill you, Raph,” he said softly. “Of course I jumped in.”
“But now you are shot!”
Leonardo set his piercing blue eyes on the younger turtle, letting softness flash in them. “Good. Better me than you.”
He stood up, throwing his hands in the air. “That’s not good! You’re – for fuck’s sake, Leonardo, ya got shot. You’re bleeding and – and –”
And dying. That was the word he couldn’t get out. But it was the truth, wasn’t it? Leonardo needed to get the bullet out, he needed stitches, proper medical care, and if he didn’t get those things soon, he could – and would – bleed out.
Leonardo tried to push himself into a sitting position and he was there on instant, keeping him on the ground. “No, don’t ya dare. Don’t be stupid, Fearless.”
“It’s alright, Raph.”
“No, it’s not!”
Before he could say anything else, there was a loud bang from the outside. They froze and Raph shifted so that he was standing in front of his brother with sais pointed at the door, guarding him. They heard muffled voices and Raphael recognized the Purple Dragons, although he couldn’t make out what were they saying. They passed the building the turtles were hiding in, their voices growing weaker as they receded.
Raphael didn’t take his eyes off the door. “Do you think…?”
“The Purple Dragons aren’t ones to wait and set a trap,” Leo comfirmed.
He turned at his brother, who had managed to get on his knees. They waited for a minute longer, just to be sure, and then Raphael urged him to standing position, supporting him. “We need to talk about your idiocy,” he mumbled as they walked out of the store. With a relief he realized that they were alone, no Purple Dragons in sight.
“Don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same.”
He glared at him, completely unbothered that Leonardo returned the glare. “I can act however I want because I didn’t get shot. You did. So shut it.” He shook his head. “Let’s get ya home.”
Leonardo rolled his eyes, though he didn’t say anything and willingly followed Raphael’s lead in their search for the nearest manhole cover.
Later, when they were in the safety of the lair and Leonardo laid on a proper bed, with his wound cleaned and stitched up, Raphael watched his brother sleep. “Stupid,” he muttered, but there was no heat in the word. Only endless relief and love.
Raphael never left Leonardo’s side while he slept.